She's A Doppelganger
by Readergirl37
Summary: Katherine runs from the Originals, she runs from fate. She doesn't run from her family. She tracks down her line, and watches for the next doppelganger.
1. Elena

AN: This will not be a long fic, ten chapters at most. I have every intention of working on other fics. This one popped into my head at work and wouldn't leave me alone.

* * *

Every five hundred years. She compels the man to check through the computer again.

"I found her." He says. Katherine looks on the screen, carefully noting the new doppelganger's name and town. She has to work quickly. She compels the man to forget, and she compels herself a ride out of Washington, D.C.


	2. Hello

She's with the Salvatores. Of course she is. She wonders what lies they've told her. She knocks on the door, and waits.

"Katherine." Damon is surprised. Of course. He was under the impression she was stuck in that tomb.

"Hello." She drawls.

"Katherine? As in the Katherine?" She hears a familiar voice say and an even more familiar face appear behind Damon.

She sees Stefan try to take her back, away from the door. Elena isn't having it.

It's amusing for a few minutes, but then she passes all of them, and sits on one of the couches.

Damon shuts the door. Elena is staring at her with curiosity. Her granddaughter, after several greats-she looks so innocent. She feels her own eyes soften at this. This is what she's here for. To keep those eyes young. And soft. She refocuses on the Salvatores.

"I'm not here for either of you. I'm here for her. And before you start asking stupid questions, I am going to help her. Not anyone else." Elena's eyes are focused on her, but Katherine ignores that.

"Remind me why we should trust you again?" Damon asks. she's getting tired of the Salvatores already. She wonders how she played nice with them for so long. She holds Damon in the air by his throat.

"Because you aren't dead yet. If I wanted to hurt you, you'd be dead or bleeding already." She reminds him and drops him to the floor. Damon grabs at his throat. There's fear, now, in those eyes that look just like hers.

"If you'll excuse us for a moment." Katherine says, carefully taking Elena's arm.

"Katherine, no!" Stefan shouts. They're gone. Damon swears.


	3. Related

"Are you here to hurt me?" The human doppelganger asks, as she lets go.

Katherine laughs. Even if she was going to hurt her, the woods would not be the place for it.

"That would be very counterproductive. No. I'm here to help you. It's only a matter of time." The vampire says, carefully taking both of Elena's hands.

"Why should I trust you?" Elena asks.

"Because I don't want you to have my fate. I have watched my family for five hundred years, waiting for you." She explains, waiting for Elena to react.

"We're related?" Elena asks. Katherine sighs, and begins to tell her everything. She starts at the very beginning, telling her of her human life.


	4. Reason

AN: I'm not doing Elejah here, not really. Caroline is totally fine and I'm not messing with anyone but those already mentioned.

* * *

By the time she's done, it's been a long time. She doesn't bother checking her phone for the time.

"And they're coming for me?" Elena asks. Katherine nods. They're both sitting on the ground, leaning against tree trunks.

"And you have a way out of this?" The human carefully presses, and Katherine nods again. Her eyes are full of something Elena can't put a name to because she's never seen it in eyes that looked like hers.

"You basically have four options." Katherine begins, looking at Elena for a sign that she's listening. The human's eyes widen. She'll take it.

"One. Neither of us want this, but it is an option. Elijah or Klaus come and you die to break the curse. The end."

Katherine is blunt and Elena finds herself shaking her head. She doesn't want that.

"Two." Katherine continues.

"You and I talk to a few witches, and get spelled to look like different people. It won't help us if we run into Originals, however. They know how I smell. You can't hide that from any vampire. We'd have to run. I don't think you want that either." The vampire says, and Elena thinks it could be okay. But leaving everyone behind and unprotected isn't a good idea. There are records of her, pictures. She'd have to fake her own death for that, she thinks. She doesn't know Katherine. But she is being genuine. She can't explain it. But Katherine sounds like she does when she's telling the truth and trying to convince someone she is. It's bizarre to think a curse, involving the Original vampires is why she looks like Katherine.

"Three?" Elena asks.

"Three. You become a vampire like me. Either you run like I did, or you go through the sacrifice and wake up wanting blood." Her options are not looking good at all.

"Four. You find someone to give their life for you. They'll die but you will live. Human. Or, if you play Elijah well enough, I'm sure he'll find some way for you to live. If he fell for two of us with the same face, I'm sure he'll fall for you too."

"That one. I'll go with number four." Elena hears herself say.

Katherine nods with approval.

"Why are you doing this? You could just let me die." Elena says, regretting the words, but she has to _know._ She has so much trust in this person who barely looks any different than she does.

Katherine stands up, and Elena has the odd urge to mirror her, so she does too. Katherine takes her hands and puts them on her shoulders. She stares into young eyes.

"You're a Petrova." She says, her accent thick with the name she hasn't said in _years_. Elena's only known her for a few hours, but she has a feeling no one has seen Katherine's eyes this vulnerable in _years._ _Maybe centuries._

"I have to protect you." She says firmly.

"No one protected me. And I have the oldest vampires in the world hunting me for it. I refuse to let this happen to you. I've watched my line for centuries hoping they would stop before five hundred years, but your mother had you. So here I am. It's not duty. It's not honor. This is family. You are my family, through five hundred years of history and I am going to protect you because there is no one else more qualified." Katherine tells her and Elena begins to understand the vampire. Tears burn her eyes for a second, and she moves to hug Katherine.


	5. Phone

AN: Not completely sure where this is set, but it's before 2x08.

* * *

Katherine hugs her, carefully. Like she's not used to hugs, or maybe she's just not used to touching humans. Elena does all of the things she usually does to make a hug reassuring and personal. She doesn't understand why she's doing it, but part of her sense Katherine needs it.

She clears her throat when they break apart.

"Can you take me home? Jenna's probably worried." She says suddenly. Jenna has no idea where she is.

"You need to tell your aunt about vampires. She's going to find out sooner or later, and not telling her is going come back to haunt you." Katherine warns, and Elena nods. She has no idea how Katherine knows so much, but she would have done her research too. She brushes it off.

"Here is my phone number." Katherine says, and rattles it off. Elena puts it in her phone, under the title of Old Phone Number.

Katherine wants to grin at that. It's a smart move.

"I'm going to drop you off at your house, and when you text me tonight, I'll show up. You'll invite me in, and we'll talk game plans." Katherine says and Elena nods.

She's in front of her house with a flash, and Katherine is gone before she can blink.


	6. Normal

She calls Stefan to ask what they told Jenna. He tells her they haven't said anything to anybody and is she okay because they've been looking for her for hours. She tells him that she's fine and hangs up. She wouldn't do that to any of her other friends, but her other friends aren't already biased about Katherine, either. She enters her house, Jenna is ordering pizza. It's so normal that it fills her with relief. It's just a normal Saturday. She can avoid the destined to die thing for a little while. Just a few hours.


	7. Plan

AN: Let's pretend like the John coming to town and Isobel deal happen later and that Elena knows she's adopted. Also, I haven't watched past the end of s3 so keep that in mind.

* * *

She's hit with the idea, before she sends the text, that if Katherine watched her line-she knows who Elena's mother is. It's a shard in her heart. She's been trying to find out who her real parents are since she found out. Nothing. She can't tell if there truly is nothing, if the secret died with the parents who raised her, or if she's just not looking in the right places. She sends the text and carefully walks down the stairs. She gets Katherine's reply that she's there before she reaches the door. She carefully opens it, and invites her into her home with a whisper. Katherine steps in, and Elena shuts the door quietly. Katherine can hear Elena's aunt, and brother's sleeping heartbeats. Elena still motions for her to be quiet and she nods. They walk up the stairs, Elena motions for her to skip the creaky one.

When they're finally inside, Katherine notes the heavy curtains on the window. No one could see in, even if they wanted to. She's sure several people do.

Elena sits on her bed, and Katherine takes off her heels before she joins her.

They work on a plan, for hours. They make sure they can text each other, Elena is under Old Phone Number in her phone too.

"Do you know my mom?" Elena asks, after a minute of silence.

"I did." Katherine says and Elena looks heartbroken.

"Knew?" She asks, but she knows the answer to the question. Katherine makes it sound like she's not alive.

"She was a vampire, and she chose to die a while ago. She loved you. Even though she turned off her emotions. I think she regretted not being there for you, but she told me she was never cut out to be a mother. To tell you the truth, I don't think I was either." Katherine isn't blunt. She's trying to be kind, Elena recognizes.

"You were a mother?" Elena asks. Katherine sighs.

"I had a child before I met Klaus and Elijah. The reason I got sent to England. I used to wonder what would have happened if I never had that child. I tracked her daughter down, my daughter had been named Nadia. She lived a human life. She was told that I had died in childbirth. I didn't see the need to torture her, so I just-watched. I hadn't talked to any of my descendants before your mother." Katherine admits.

"I'm sorry." Comes out of Elena's mouth before she recognizes it. She doesn't regret it.

Katherine closes her eyes.

"It was lifetimes ago." She says.

"Do you know who my father is?" Elena asks carefully. Katherine opens an eye at that.

"It's a good thing you're already sitting down. Your biological father is John Gilbert. Jeremy's uncle. He and Isobel had you and gave you to Jeremy's parents because his mother couldn't get pregnant. Neither of them wanted to be parents. I highly doubt he knows she's dead. Also, plot twist, Isobel was your history teacher's wife before she asked Damon to turn her. She faked her own death. Alaric sees Damon as her killer. Do with that what you will." She drops the information and waits for it to hit.

"Wait. So, did Alaric see Damon do it and they had coordinated for her to fake her death in front of him?" Elena asks. Katherine nods in confirmation.

"Just when I thought today couldn't get any weirder." She mutters, and the vampire next to her lets out a light laugh.

"I have to go soon." Katherine reminds her.

"But-" Elena stops.

"I thought you were going to protect me." She says, her voice is full of vulnerability.

"I am, darling. Just not me. I have other people here who will do that for me. If Klaus or Elijah catch me here, we're both dead. Do you remember the plan?" She asks.

"Yeah. I do. I'm not looking forward to being kidnapped." Elena admits willingly.

"But the bread crumbs will take Rose and Trevor to you. Elijah is easier to make a deal with. They'll seek him out instead of Klaus. Play up your honor and your love of family, and it will work out. And I will be here for you Elena. Just not, physically. We need to do the last step before I go." Katherine says and Elena wants to groan. But she doesn't. Katherine carefully takes off her necklace and weaves their story of compulsion. She knows who Katherine is, and will be unable to tell anyone what happened when they met. Katherine had just taunted her with vague threats and skipped town. She doesn't know anything more than that. She'll remember the compulsion, won't be able to mention it to anyone besides her ancestor. And it's over. Katherine trusts her to keep her updated and text her. She puts the necklace back on the human.

"Good luck." She says, she's said it dozens of times. This might be one of the first times Katherine's actually meant it.


	8. Elijah

She knows it's coming, she texts Katherine a few minutes before and hides her phone. She has her old phone in her hand, she pretends to drop it out of fright when a man looks at her with too intense eyes to be an oblivious human as she tries to find her car.

* * *

She says a stupid apology and as she reaches down, she blacks out.

She's vaguely aware of moving, she's in a trunk for a while before she blinks back out into the darkness. She feels someone carrying her, the next time she's awake. It's a man. It must be Trevor. She's tied up, she notices. Great. Just great.

Elijah looks different than Trevor and Katherine had gone into great detail on appearances. Trevor will not be even a fraction of as frightening as Elijah will be. Katherine has stressed this, over and over. She can't help but shake, especially when Trevor takes the ropes she hadn't noticed before off her. She has the advantage, she knows this mentally, but physically her body is full of fear. Part of it is insisting that she run, but her mind screams that they're vampires. She'll get caught. She plays her role. Katherine has gone through dozens of scenarios with her. Trevor almost taking a bite out of her was not one of them. The fear in her shout is real.

* * *

There's a woman, who stops Trevor suddenly. Vampires, Elena reminds herself. She must be Rose. Her eyes are a little kinder than Trevor's. They exchange words, nothing important. She continues her role, reminding herself to later tell Katherine it was like situation number fourteen. She's more submissive than she would have been had Katherine not helped. She recognizes the power of vampires more than most, the other doppelganger has told her. It has saved her life before. She just shakes, and when Rose demands that she stays quiet, she does. She carefully watches, and when Trevor announces that "he" is there, she assumes Elijah. She feels fear hit her like a full body punch. Trevor is nervous and getting cold feet. He and Rose argue, and then there's a moment where they're _soft._ Elena can hear Katherine snort and call them that. But it's true. Rose reminds him that they're a family and Elena remembers that Katherine isn't the only one being hunted for Katherine's turning. There's are a few sounds that sound like knocks and Elena feels a punch of fear as she hears each one. She's been playing her role for a while. She just hopes she can play it well enough to Elijah. She has no idea which situation he might go into. Katherine has told him that it's likely she'll be kidnapped again. But Elijah will be gentler, Katherine has told her. Elena's a little doubtful, but she remembers Katherine telling her that Klaus and Elijah would want her in perfect shape to be a sacrificial lamb.

Elijah is the wild card. There are two options. Either he is loyal to Klaus, or he is not. Both are still bad.

* * *

She and Trevor pretend not to notice each other jump as the front door shuts. They're afraid of the same man, for different reasons. She's pacing when something shifts. She hears footsteps and turns around. She tries to swallow. Her throat doesn't work. She tries to swallow again as she sees Elijah. He looks surprised, like Katherine said he would, but the part of her brain that acts as her replacement Katherine is quiet when he's inches away. The shudder and the instinct to lean back are natural. She's playing her role well. She just hopes it's enough. Her eyes are on his, and they're dark. Her brain only offers one word when he stares at her. Intense. He's intense, the rest of her agrees. He moves and she almost thinks he's going to kiss her or bite her and she's honestly not sure which one she thinks is worse. His chest almost touches hers and she's never been so aware of centimeters of space before. He inhaled, the small part of her brain that's functioning supplies. She swallows and he moves back slightly.

"Human." He notes, and she's glad Katherine is up in Canada because honestly she's scared for not only herself but Katherine. If they pull Number Four A off or Number Four B off, it will be a miracle. Elena is going to tell Katherine that their victory party will include having hangovers the morning after it's all over. Elijah says that she's impossible, his eyes flickering to Rose and Trevor. Far away, it seems, by the stairs. By the only exit. Her breathing is quick and shallow and she wonders if she'll get heart problems from dealing with vampires because she's fairly sure she's having a heart attack.

Then his attention focuses back onto her, and his voice is quiet.

"Hello there. What is your name?" It's not the voice of a monster. The Katherine voice, part of her is relieved, she can't show that-reminds her that he is.

"Elena." She tries not to stutter. She wonders if vampire blood can help a heart attack. Would any of them offer theirs if it was a heart attack? She wonders. He moves into her space again and it's a natural reaction for her to take a step back. He doesn't seem offended.

He tells her that they should leave. They have quite the journey ahead together. The Katherine part of her brain quietly whispers that this is like a horrible pick and choose from situations thirty nine to forty three. Her plea to Rose is real, she doesn't want to be taken. He looks interested at this, and looks to Rose and Trevor. He mentions something about business and she hopes that he means business involving someone else because she's not sure her heart can take much more. Or her throat. She's fairly sure she can't breathe. Katherine hadn't been exaggerating about the level of fear either. She's sure that average people would be scared too, but the Katherine part of her brain thinks that maybe it's a doppelganger thing. Katherine feels the same level of fear. Elena understands why she's hiding up in a remote part of Canada now. It makes sense. He walks to Trevor, and they talk, Elijah's glance flickers back to her. She's not actually sure the last time she was able to take a breath was. It seems like years.

Elijah circles around Trevor, a careful gait. _Like a shark._ Her mental Katherine whispers. Elena agrees. He's an old and deadly shark in a suit. He definitely has the teeth. They speak, too low for her to hear. Then Elijah moves his hand, and instead of hearing a slap like she expects, there's a splatter of blood and her world goes dark.


	9. Deal

AN: If you want me to continue after this chapter, please let me know!

* * *

She opens her eyes in a car. She moves forward, she can feel a seatbelt. She's not tied. She tries to think for a moment before the fear crashes into her like a wave and she looks to her left. Elijah. He has her phone on the console. She deleted all of her messages to Katherine before she got kidnapped, there's nothing on there that would ruin this.

"Is Trevor dead?" She barely recognizes her own voice, she's tense with fear.

"Yes." He answers simply. His eyes flicker to her from the road.

He doesn't mention that he caught her before she fell, or that Rose was gone by the time he put her in the passenger seat. It's irrelevant.

"So you're going to break the Sun and Moon Curse?" She asks. He nods.

"The moonstone is in Mystic Falls." She tells him, hoping it's still true. Katherine had convinced Tyler's uncle to hide it somewhere.

His head moves slightly.

"And I thought I was going to have to explain this to you." He's amused, she realizes. The sound puts her on edge.

"I can tell you everything I know, I just-" Her voice breaks.

"I just want my family and friends to be safe. I don't want to be Rose." She continues, a few tears escaping. Unplanned but genuine. Her mental Katherine approves.

"Tell me what you know." It's a demand, but his voice is pleasant. So she does. Most of it. She tells him that she knows that the Sun and the Moon Curse is real, there has to be a vampire, a werewolf, a doppelganger and the moonstone. She has to die, along with the werewolf and vampire, by Klaus under a full moon. She tells him she doesn't mind dying if the people she loves are safe after she's gone. He looks thoughtful and doesn't give her a reason not to continue talking, so she does. She tells him that she has a little brother who she'd die to protect, and an aunt who tries but isn't perfect, her friends are human and young. Except Bonnie, but she downplays Bonnie's powers. She mentions that there are two brothers in the town who are vampires. She calls them idiots because they are, but tells him that they would die for each other as well. She's shaking slightly, and neither she or her mental Katherine can tell if it's the air conditioner in his car or her fear of him.

"Then I can offer you a deal." He decides. He doesn't wait for her to say anything before he continues.

"I will do all I can, within reason, to keep your loved ones safe. In exchange, you will cooperate with me. My goal is not to break the curse and I have a way for you to survive dying by Klaus's hand. I will return with you to Mystic Falls. We will work to kill Klaus together. If any of your loved ones try to kill me or break our deal, our deal is off. What do you think?" He asks. She takes a deep breath.

"I agree to your terms."


	10. Tears

She plays her role well, she helps Elijah and he seems to trust her. She pretends like she doesn't want to run away from him when he's in the same room as her. Katherine has instilled fear and survival into her, she's fairly sure it's scarred somewhere she can't see in her body, because he notices it.

* * *

"You're scared of me." He notes, and she doesn't deny it. He knows she's not Katherine, but he can't help but compare them.

"You are terrifying." She admits, and it's not to give him power, it's a move Katherine is sure will work on him.

"I do not want you to be afraid of me." He admits. Katherine also admitted Elijah would be much more open to her before Klaus arrived.

"Why?" She asks, they have a few weeks before she's to die by his brother's hand.

"We are allies, isn't that what you said?" He inquires.

"I did, but you're an Original. You're on the top of the food chain and I'm going to be dead in a few weeks because of your brother." She reminds him. He has a look she can't place on his face.

"I'm not going to run. I heard about what you two did to Katherine. I am not letting anyone die except myself." Another reminder.

"I have something to prevent you from dying permanently. if you take it, you'll live after my brother drains you of your blood. As a human." He says and tears prick at her eyes.

She's not going to die. No one is going to die for her. Plan four b is going to work. She wants to send Katherine roses and a thank you note. She hasn't felt this happy in a long time.


	11. Heart

She wants to call Katherine, Elijah has divulged to her that he plans to dagger Klaus, there will be one less Original after her, them. But she settles for texting. Vampires could listen in, and she knows they can show up at any moment. She walks down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, she and her friends had told Jenna a week before about all of it. She's still adjusting, and Elena says a quiet goodnight to her aunt before returning to her room. Her aunt echoes her, and Elena smiles. All she has to do is die, and this will all stay the same.

* * *

Her phone is never off her when texts from Katherine are on it, and thank goodness because there's someone on her window seat. Elijah. She sets the water on her desk and slips her phone into her pocket before shrugging on a sweater. They talk about the plan, she's going to die in a week, he's gotten word to his brother that he has her, she wants to shiver at the possessive sound that has to it. If Katherine has taught her anything, it's to seek freedom and happiness, however fleeting. Her logic was that if something made you happy even for a moment, it was probably worth it. Elena feels like being in a relationship is impossible now. She doesn't want to belong to someone. Not now, maybe not ever.

"Did I say something wrong?" Elijah asks.

"I don't belong to anyone." Elena corrects. He nods, seeming to understand that. She's like a puzzle to him. There are so many pieces scattered everywhere for him to try to fit together.

"My apologies." He says and she nods, sitting in the chair by her desk. They're more comfortable with each other, Katherine told her that would happen with time. Elijah is very easy to adjust to, she had warned. He adjusted himself in the blink of an eye as well. Better not to adjust completely.

* * *

She reminds him of Katerina. Her heart is still nervous when they're in the same room, they seem to have the same need for freedom. He doesn't blame them, he knows being fated to die isn't a fate anyone wants.

He almost wants to forgive Katerina, but he remembers how manipulative she was and how Elena isn't. There's too much history there. He doesn't actually know what he would do if he saw Katerina again. He knows he can't hurt her.

She looks too much like Elena, who's staring at him with curiosity and asking him if he's okay.

* * *

Such a trusting human, human Katerina and Elena are too similar for his brain to quite comprehend. They're so close to being the same person, he couldn't ever kill Katerina now. Even though he's never heard the vampire doppelganger sound this concerned for anyone else. He knows Tatia came first then Katerina and Elena, but he can't help but see Elena in Katerina. Even though it should be finding Katerina in her, she seems to be too different from her ancestor for him. He needs a drink before he can think similarities again.

"I was just thinking." He offers. It's not a lie, he doesn't lie to Elena. He withholds information, but he doesn't lie. It's nothing bad, just things she doesn't need to know, like how he's trying to decide if cutting himself open will get rid of the messy feelings that have been growing for _her_ in his dead heart. He wonders if he can pluck them out, or if they've gotten attached to nerves and other organs. It feels like it. He doesn't like the feeling, he's weak around her. Just like Tatia. Just like Katerina. Just like them, he can tell there will be regret in his future, involving her. He just doesn't know the reason yet.


	12. Toast

He has no reason to stick around, he knows. His brother is daggered, in a coffin sealed with a spell. But _Elena._ It's been two weeks since she died and came back and he hasn't seen her. His choice.

* * *

He's just going to say goodbye, he tells himself as he sits on her window seat. There's someone already in the room. It's not Elena.

"Katerina." He says, inhaling. He'll make note of the differences between doppelgangers later, he's about to pin her against the wall. He does, but he's pinning two people. Elena is spread in front of her double, it's her chest his is pressing into. He can smell their fear, both of them. It's another thing tucked away for later.

"Please don't hurt her." Spills out of the human's lips. He can feel the shallow breaths she's taking, and he pulls back slightly.

"Fine." He says, and pulls her away from the vampire. A request tears itself out of Katherine's throat.

"Don't hurt her either." It's fragile, and really she should not be making demands, he's waited over five hundred years to get revenge for her betrayal. His hand is still on Elena's arm, she could escape it if she wants. His goal is not to hurt her. He releases her, and walks to Katherine.

"Then who gets to pay for your betrayal? Did you compel her to care?" He inquires. He can feel Elena's gaze. She wants to help her ancestor more than anything, but they are hundreds of years of strength and she cannot even dream of competing.

"No." It's the truth, he can hear her heart.

"Then why are you here?' He demands to know. She exchanges a look with Elena, and he feels like he's missing something. She waits too long to answer, so he compels her. She hasn't had access to vervain in the last few days, and she curses herself as he speaks.

"Tell me what you were going to do with Elena." He demands.

"We were going to get drunk to the point of having hangovers tomorrow morning." She admits.

"For what? Are you celebrating something, Katerina?" He wonders.

"Yes. We were celebrating that Elena survived." She answers, and Elena is becoming more afraid, he can tell. He wonder what will happen when he presses too hard.

"You hate her. Why come back?" He inquires.

"I don't. I don't hate her, I have never hated her. I came back to celebrate." Katherine spills their secrets like blood from a wound, Elena's sure at least one of them is bleeding.

"Celebrate the fact she survived something you were supposed to die for in 1492?" He asks, he's being cruel he knows. He knows he's likely never had a chance for Elena's heart, like her never had Katherine's, never had Tatia's. If he did, he's ruining his chance but he continues.

"Yes." Katherine confirms.

"You don't need to compel her, you could ask me the truth." Elena tells him and he shakes his head.

"You lied to me about Katerina." He says, looking at her.

"You never asked. You never told me everything, I never told you everything. She's helped me since I found out about her. The Salvatores knew her in 1864, and she showed up a few weeks after they told me about her. She wanted to keep me safe. She orchestrated my kidnapping, she led Rose and Trevor to me using someone else, and she led you to me. I've been prepared to die for months." Elena confesses. Her heart assures him she is telling the truth. He looks back at Katerina.

"Is this the truth?" He asks. She nods.

"Why help her? You could have let her die in your stead and stay far away from here. I might not have found you for a few more years." He says and Katherine's face reminds her of the day they met. Elijah is not touching her, but he's close, ensuring she can't leave. He quirks an eyebrow at the expressions on the doppelgangers. He's not expecting an ancient accent to slip out of the younger vampire's lips.

"She's a Petrova. I had to protect her. She's a doppelganger. I had to. No one protected me." Her heartbeat is steady.

"You lie. You had me. I had the elixir made for you. This could have all been over centuries ago." Elijah reminds her.

"But like with Elena here, you didn't tell me everything. I got scared. I ran. My parents taught me to run from danger, not to run towards it. I returned home to find them all dead. Your brother killed them, Elijah. Did you help him kill them? Did you ever feel anything for me or was I just Tatia to you? I am not Tatia, and Elena is not me. We are all our own people, but we are Tatia's blood, and your brother killed our family. If you only ever loved Tatia, you still hurt her family and I hope you know that." Katherine says. Her words are like weapons, Elijah looks like she stabbed him. Elena looks at them with interest. Katherine mentioned that the original doppelganger, who she and Katherine looked like, was named Tatia. She had lived in the time of the Originals before their mother made them vampires. She had little to no details, but she shared the few she had with Elena. Klaus and Elijah had loved her. He's always known that Katerina's fate, and her decisions had been partially his fault, had he done more she would not have run.

"I did not kill them. Niklaus did, I knew that after he did it. I did not see fault in it at the time. I had felt something for you, and you are all unique, despite your physical similarities. I am sorry for the damage I have done, but I am not entirely to blame here." He says and Elena takes a deep breath.

"If you're going to kill me, you're leaving Elena defenseless. Those Salvatores are useless." Katherine reminds him, and he nods in agreement.

"They are, aren't they?" He looks amused, and Elena and Katherine wonder what's going on in his head.

* * *

"Katerina." He says, and his voice is tinged with finality. Whatever he says next is it, the doppelgangers know. Elena wants to slip her hand into Katherine's.

"I am pardoning you. You have spent your existence running. You should spend it living." He says, and moves a few feet away. The words sink in as Elena wraps her arms around the vampire excitedly.

"I'm free?" She asks, her voice is oddly vulnerable. She hasn't returned Elena's embrace yet.

"You are." The Original confirms. She wraps her arms around Elena, her head in a familiar neck. Tears can't be seen there. She feels peace that she has never known before, relief and love for Elena and nothing at all for Elijah. Neither of them see him leave. Elena will later propose a toast to both vampires that night, as they drink to their happiness.

* * *

finis


End file.
